www.iFourWinns.com

Hi -

I just bought a 1988 205 Sundowner that is in great condition, but . . .

I've launched three times, and every time, within minutes, the cuddy carpet is soaked -- I mean really wet.

Last weekend, after driving for around 30 minutes, we stopped for a couple of hours. The bilge pump went on and put out a good stream of water for a minute or so. I noticed the carpet did start to dry out after straying put for a while.
Then, returning to the ramp, the carpet started to get wet again. After pulling out (and another minute of a pretty good bilge pump stream), the truck and trailer must have been parked a little bit nose down, because I could see water seeping in from the rear (in the joint where the cuddy floor meets the step out into the cockpit) and it had an oily slick on it.

Any suggestions as to what's going on here would be much appreciated.

DavidC

It could be a number of things that are causing water to enter the boat. You do have a major problem though that needs to be fixed.

Dry the bilge area well using a shop vac if needed to het all the water out.

Put the boat in the water and observe the engine space and bilge area. If you see no water entering after waiting awhile start the engine and see if water is coming in now.

It is either coming in from a hole in the hull or being pumped in by the engine.

_________________
Jvalich
http://www.badcock.com

'04 FW 288 Vista "Mental Floss"

David - I have a 1988 Sundowner 225 and I have never had the bilge pump run. A couple of times when parked on land with the nose too low i have had rain water seep up into the cuddy through that hole You mentioned. To get it to drain better I cut the carpet out better around the hole. From the factory it was more or less covering the hole. My guess is you have water being pumped into the bilge by the motor or leaking around the rubber coupler between the drive and the hull. Follow the instructions from jvalich and you should be able to pinpoint it. Im sure once you get it fixed you will love the boat.

PS. When you get a chance post pics of your boat.

Thanks for the hints, guys.

The only below waterline, thru-hull opening in the whole boat is the outdrive. The previous owner SWEARS that he never had this happen to him.

I'll take your advice and start from scratch -- clean it out and methodically try to find where the water is coming from.

Is it possible that this could be trapped rain water? We've had LOTS of rain up here, and the boat has been uncovered, exposed to much of it. She lives on the tailer, and I keep the plug out while she's on the trailer, but could it be that rain is getting trapped under the cockpit and not reaching the bilge pump until the boat gets to a launch ramp and gets tilted severely to the rear.

Wishful thinking, I know -- It's just that a seal around the outdrive sounds SO expensive!

I'll let you know what happens.

DC[/img]

That very well could be the case. Regardless, you need to get it dried out as well as you can in all the openings you have access to. After it's dry, tip the trailer up at home and leave it sit awhile and see if your guess is right.

I had water coming in and it turned out to be from the bow eye. Removed and reinstalled with new sealant and I had no more problems.

_________________
Jvalich
http://www.badcock.com

'04 FW 288 Vista "Mental Floss"

David that was my problem.. The tongue was low and filled the bow with water. It can hold a lot of water.

I'm hoping that's it. I just ran the engine with the mouse ears and there are no leaks there, so it's either rainwater sloshong back and forth as I launch, retrieve, etc, or it's going to be something withy the outdrive.

I won't be launching the boat again until next week. I'll find out then.

I'll let you all know the outcome when I get back from that trip.

David

When you go to launch the boat leave the plug out and let it sit on the ramp to drain all the water out. This assuming there isn't 10 boats waiting to launch as well. I find with my boat I need to have the bow very high when its on the trailer to allow the rainwater to drain. Also I get some water coming in (even with mooring cover on) where the side windows end. The water runs along the bottom of the side windows and then seems to run into the boat at that point. Not a lot of water though. Don't be suprised if you have 40 gallons of water in the boat sitting under the floor. I had this happen twice last year. Now that the boat is the water all the time I have no more problems with water.